This album is essentially fusion. That said, I tend to generally put fusion under the progressive rock heading. Why do I do that? Well, to me, the difference between prog and fusion is whether it’s more rock or more jazz. If it’s close enough along the lines, I figure it can be considered progressive rock. Whatever you want to label this, though, it’s a great album.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

On a Mission

This killer fusion jam reminds me of what you might get if you crossed Al Di Meola with UK. It’s a smoking hot number that starts this mission off in style.

After AllThis isn’t as intense as the opener was. Still, it’s got some awesome fusion guitar soloing and some great musical vibes. The bass really dances in background. The keyboards weave some tasty melodies on this, too.

ExactlyHere is an even better jam. It’s got twists and turns and tons of energy. There are great instrumental showings from each of the musicians.

Portia

This is slower, but no less impressive. It’s got a ton of passion and power in place. It’s quite a tasty tune that really works well. It provides some magic and majesty while embodying grace. I love some of the retro keyboard sounds on this thing.

Siddhartha's Return

Here we get more melodic fusion. This has a bit more oomph than the previous cut did.

Rauleando

At times this is a bit heavier than the rest of the music here. There’s a lot of energy to the piece and in some ways it feels more adventurous than a lot of the rest. There are definitely some dramatic moments here. It also drops to some extremely mellow music at times. I particularly enjoy some of the keyboard jamming here.

No Big Deal

The guitar really guides a lot of this energetic jam. I can make out some hints of Latin sounds here and this does call to mind Di Meola a bit.

Jimmy O'donnell's Air

There’s a killer groove to this cut. It’s quite melodic and seems to have some hints of the Dixie Dregs, particularly in some of the guitar soloing.